Companies have legal rights. Rivers do not.

It means treating rivers, forests, oceans, and other ecosystems as living entities with rights – not merely as property or resources to be managed. Those rights can include the right to exist, to stay healthy, to regenerate, and to be restored when damaged. Crucially, it means that citizens can go to court on behalf of an ecosystem, in the same way that lawyers can represent a company or a person who cannot speak for themselves.

Because the law has to evolve alongside the challenges we face. Climate change, biodiversity loss, and ecosystem collapse are not being reversed by the legal tools we currently have and that is not a coincidence. A law that treats a river as an object cannot protect it the way a law that treats it as a living entity can.

The idea may sound unfamiliar, but legal rights are regularly extended to entities that cannot speak for themselves. Companies have legal rights. Future generations are increasingly recognised in law. Indigenous legal traditions around the world and Europe's own deep traditions of environmental reverence have long understood ecosystems as more than raw material.

When a forest is destroyed, it cannot appear in court. Rights for Nature would allow citizens to do so on its behalf. That is not a radical idea – it is a practical one.

A designated guardian or representative, appointed by law, in a similar way to how a trustee represents a person who cannot act for themselves. This could be a public body, a citizens' committee, or an officially recognised advocacy organisation, depending on how the legislation is designed. Their role would be to monitor the health of the ecosystem, report damage, and bring legal action when its rights are being violated.

The model already exists in practice: in New Zealand, a board of guardians co-managed by the Māori community and the Crown represents the Whanganui River. In Spain, the Mar Menor has a legal commission that can act on its behalf.

No. Recognising rights for ecosystems does not mean abolishing private property or halting all economic activity. Businesses and governments would still be able to use natural resources but they would have to respect the health and regenerative limits of ecosystems, not just in principle, but in law. The framework shifts the question from "how much damage is legally permissible?" to "what does this ecosystem need to survive and thrive?" Activities that can be shown to cause irreversible harm to an ecosystem's core functions would face stronger legal scrutiny – which is precisely the point.

It is not only possible; it is already happening. Ecuador enshrined Rights for Nature in its constitution in 2008. In New Zealand, the Whanganui River has been recognised as a legal person since 2017. In Canada, several ecosystems have been granted legal rights by local communities and courts.

Closer to home: in 2022, the Mar Menor lagoon in Murcia, Spain, became the first European ecosystem to hold its own legal rights – the result of a citizen-led campaign backed by over 600,000 signatures. These are not symbolic gestures. They are legal instruments that have been used in court.

They are complementary. Healthy ecosystems are the foundation for fundamental human rights to clean water, food, a stable climate, and a liveable environment. Protecting ecosystems is not an alternative to protecting people; it is a precondition for it. Rights for Nature would help secure the ecological foundations on which present and future generations depend.

The Rights for Nature ECI is a formal, EU-wide democratic tool that calls on the European Union to recognise legal rights for nature. By collecting at least one million verified signatures from citizens across EU member states, we can invite the European Commission to propose legislation that grants ecosystems those rights.

We want EU law to recognise that ecosystems have rights: the right to exist, to remain healthy, and to be restored when harmed. Our immediate goal is to open this debate at EU level by collecting one million signatures from citizens across Europe, which would legally require the European Commission to consider our proposal.

Yes. The initiative does not require treaty change. It calls for new legislation within the EU's existing competences and specifically in the areas of environmental policy and nature protection, where the EU already has a strong legal basis. The European Commission has the authority to propose legislation in this area; our goal is to give it a democratic mandate to do so. The initiative builds on rather than replaces the existing body of EU environmental law, including the Nature Restoration Law, the Water Framework Directive, and the Habitats Directive. There have been multiple legal assessments that state that the Rights for Nature fall within the legitimacy of the EU. A more deep explanation can be found in the description of the initiative.

Once the threshold is reached and the signatures are verified, the European Commission is legally required to examine the proposal and respond formally, explaining what action it intends to take, or why it does not intend to act. The European Parliament also holds a public hearing at which the organisers can present the initiative.

This does not automatically result in new legislation: the Commission retains the right to decide whether to propose a law. But one million verified signatures from across Europe create significant political pressure and a formal, public obligation to respond. No ECI has ever been simply ignored.

The initiative would lapse in its current form, and the Commission would have no formal obligation to respond. But the campaign would not be without effect. Every signature represents a person who has actively expressed support for Rights for Nature at EU level. Every partner organisation built, every Ambassador recruited, and every person who joins the movement strengthens the broader Rights for Nature movement in Europe which will continue regardless of the outcome of any single campaign. We intend to reach one million. But the work does not stop if we fall short.

Yes. The EU requires that signatures on a European Citizens' Initiative be verified by national authorities to confirm that each signatory is a genuine, eligible EU citizen. The verification process varies by country, in most cases it involves providing your name, address, date of birth, and a national identity document number. These details are submitted securely through the EU's official ECI collection system and handled in accordance with GDPR. Your data will not be used for any purpose other than verifying your eligibility and will not be shared with the campaign organisers.

Signature collection will possibly begin in October 2026 and run for twelve months. Any EU citizen who is old enough to vote in European Parliament elections in their country of residence is eligible to sign. Sign up for updates and we will let you know the moment signing opens.

We are citizens from across EU member states: lawyers, scientists, activists, and people who simply care deeply about the natural world. In each participating country we have members who are passionate about the idea of the Rights for Nature in the respective country. We work together through a network of organisations that share a commitment to democratic principles, legal innovation, and the belief that Europe can build a different kind of relationship with nature. Our campaign is coordinated by Rechte der Natur e.V. in Germany, in partnership with Rights for Nature movements in ten European countries.

The campaign is funded through a combination of grants from foundations and philanthropic organisations, individual donations from supporters, and in-kind contributions from our partner organisations across Europe. If you would like to support the campaign financially, you can do so on our Donate page.

Your name and email address will be stored in our campaign database and used exclusively to send you updates about the Rights for Nature ECI campaign news, event invitations, and information about when the signature collection opens. We will never sell or share your data with third parties. You can unsubscribe at any time with a single click. We process your data in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Full details are in our privacy policy.

Yes and we are glad you asked. Only EU citizens who are eligible to vote in the elections for the European Parliament can sign the official ECI, but the Rights for Nature movement is global, and there is plenty you can do. You can share our campaign with people in your network who are EU citizens. You can attend our events, follow us on social media, and help spread the word. You can contribute financially to help us build the infrastructure for one million signatures. And you can support Rights for Nature initiatives in your own country: the movement needs advocates everywhere.